If you’re looking for the George Street Playhouse, just let your gaze travel across this wall of shimmering glass - you’ll spot it tucked behind the sleek, modern facade of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, right across the street from those bright red Rutgers banners and underneath that bold marquee.
Here we are, standing before the George Street Playhouse - or, as locals affectionately call it, the GSP. Now, look at this place… all steel, glass, and modern attitude, sitting confidently in downtown’s Civic Square. Hard to believe that just a few decades ago, this celebrated theater company was performing in an abandoned supermarket over on George Street. Yes, really. There’s nothing like great plays between the potato bins and the checkout lanes, right?
Since its scrappy beginnings back in 1974, founded by the unstoppable Eric Krebs, GSP has been a launchpad for new and established theater talent. If your phone’s picking up the city’s hum and the patter of rain on the sidewalk, just imagine the artistic energy thrumming inside these walls - actors running lines, set crews adjusting lights, that unmistakable smell of sawdust, paint, and adrenaline that sneaks backstage right before curtain.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint and Managing Director Edgar Herrera, this place has become a magic factory. Each season, somewhere between the applause and the exits, GSP gives both Broadway-bound shows and undiscovered gems a place to shine. On any given night, you might catch the premiere of a show like The Trial of Donna Caine, or a stirring musical tribute like Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical. And once in a while, as with Proof back in ’99, you might even witness the birth of a show destined for a Pulitzer - developed right here before leaping to worldwide acclaim. Not too shabby for a former grocery store.
What’s especially clever about the Playhouse is its double life. Not only do they present bold new works for their main stage, but their Touring Theatre jumps into action, bringing issue-driven productions to over 250 schools around the tri-state area. That’s more than 30,000 students a year forming their first memories of live theater - and probably a few teachers nervously making sure no one falls asleep in the back row.
Their resume reads like a highlights reel: Broadway runs launched from little New Brunswick; famous faces like Kathleen Turner and Idina Menzel (yes, Elsa herself) gracing the stage; box office records shattered with shows like Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. When I say records, I mean people couldn’t cram in fast enough. And with hits ranging from the riotous Inspecting Carol to the thoughtful American Son, GSP's stages have hosted everything from slapstick to soul-searching.
In 2019, after a brief detour in Rutgers’ old Agricultural Museum (where I imagine the actors had to compete with the ghosts of dusty tractors), the Playhouse made its triumphant homecoming to this snazzy new venue, officially taking its place in the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.
So as you stand here soaking in the city’s energy - and maybe catching a whiff of coffee from a nearby café - know that the George Street Playhouse is proof that a little bit of grit, a lot of passion, and maybe some help from a daring artistic director can transform any street corner into a cradle for New Jersey’s greatest stories. And frankly, I think the supermarket’s loss was definitely theater’s gain.
